The mother of Ireland's Olympic rowing heroes has warned her sons' new legion of female admirers they will "have to go through me first".

But Trish O'Donovan insisted, as she arrived in Cork from Rio, that Gary (23) and Paul (22) O'Donovan will "keep their feet firmly on the ground" despite the global fame that has greeted their historic silver medal-winning performance in Brazil.

Trish also revealed she first guessed her sons were destined for international success in 2008 and started a credit union saving account that year just so she could get to the 2016 Rio Games.

Another photo of the brothers at a competition in their teens Photo: Michael Mac Sweeney / Provision

She used saving stamps from Skibbereen Credit Union to save the funds to watch her sons make Irish rowing history in Brazil.

"I used the stamps so I couldn't spend the money," she joked.

"I'm glad I didn't spend it now because watching Gary and Paul in Rio was a dream come true. I was the proudest woman on the planet that day.

"They are both mad as hatters - when they were young they wouldn't even put shoes on.

The brothers with their Olympic silver medals Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

"I had an awful job getting them to wear shoes to school. They used to run around barefoot. But rowing calmed them down. They love their sport and are really dedicated to it. So there is fear of them."

Trish arrived in Cork from Rio yesterday exhausted but elated with her fiancée, Mick McCabe, and her sons' godmother, Kathleen Kiely-Wingate, and admitted she will start saving now for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.